Finding Hope
by Artsy Werewolf
Summary: "Pain coursed through every part of her: her chest, her mouth.. and her heart. She buried her face into her pillow and allowed herself a small sob before trying desperately to fall back to sleep."  Rating is for themes and language.
1. That Night

***Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or anything related to it, I'm merely dabbling in that world.**

**A/N: This chapter is mostly a prequel to the rest of the story. I'm getting a lot of the intense stuff out of the way here, so keep that in mind. I apologize ahead of time to any Davis fans.**

**Update: I've reread this story, and found myself cringing at a lot of the writing, so I'm going to edit all of the chapters before I post any new ones.**

Strong arms circled around Kari's waist, pulling her back closer to the warm chest. His chin rested on top of her head, then moved to the side so that his lips were touching her ear.

"I," Davis whispered, "am going to miss you, sooooo much!"

Kari giggled and maneuvered herself so that she was facing her friend. "Davis, you're going to have so much fun with Willis, you'll barely remember to write!" she said with a smile.

All of the DigiDestined, old and new, were gathered in the Kamiyas' apartment for a goodbye party for Davis. Willis had invited Davis to America for a month-long backpacking trip in the Rockies. Davis claimed that it was going to be hard to be away from his friends for that long, but everyone knew that he was literally counting down the days until he could go. While none of his friends in Japan could understand what was so fun about it, Willis shared Davis' love for the outdoorsy activity.

"N-no, I'm _ssserious_, Kari," Davis insisted, his words slurring together. Kari could smell beer on his breath, and realized that Matt hadn't been joking about spiking the punch. She gently peeled Davis off of her, and he stumbled slightly.

"Davis, go on and enjoy your party," she told him. He nodded, and lumbered off toward his best friend, Ken.

Kari surveyed the room, trying to find her brother. Cody, Izzy, and Joe were on the floor in the living room, trying to teach Mimi some elaborate card game. Mimi's face was pinched tight together in concentration as she watched the boys move the cards around. In the armchair next to them Matt was playing his guitar. Sora sat on an armrest, her head resting on his shoulder. Davis had just entered the kitchen to find Ken and Yolei, who seemed too busy throwing each other shy glances to notice his arrival. Davis turned to the bowl of chips on the counter, stuffing handful after handful into his mouth. TK and Tai were standing and talking next to the punch bowl. TK's arms were gesturing grandly, like he was in the middle of telling some exciting story. Kari headed towards them.

"Tai," she interrupted without preamble, "Matt spiked the punch."

"I know," he responded nonchalantly, not even turning away from TK, who'd paused his story.

"Well, are you going to _do_ anything about it?" Kari wanted to know.

"It's no big deal. We're all friends, and we're in a safe place." Tai turned to face his little sister. "Just relax. Anyway, I know we've got Little Miss Straight-Edge to watch out for us," he added with a playful nudge.

Kari narrowed her eyes, not appreciating the nickname. There wasn't anything wrong with not wanting to drink.

"You realize, don't you, that no one can drive home now," she reminded her brother in annoyance. "Plus, most of us are underage. We can't be drinking."

Tai appeared equally annoyed at having TK's story continually interrupted.

"Kari, they can stay here overnight," he told her in exasperation. "Mom and Dad won't be home until late tomorrow afternoon, anyway. They can help us clean in the morning, and then head out. And as for drinking, it's not like you guys won't be doing it once you get to college. And doesn't Davis deserve to have some fun before he's completely cut off from civilization?" Tai challenged.

Kari groaned, defeated. "Fine, but this better not get out of hand."

"It won't," Tai promised.

One last thing. "Cody," Kari called across the room. "Don't drink any of the punch!"

The youngest DigiDestined looked up at her in confusion, but nodded his head seriously before turning back to his card game.

"What was that for?" Tai asked bemusedly.

"Look, I'm not going to stop the rest of you, but I won't sit and watch while a 14-year-old gets drunk." Kari crossed her arms, daring the older boy to defy her.

Tai sighed and nodded in agreement. He then turned back to TK to hear the rest of the story, when a voice interrupted them once more.

"Who wants to play Spin the Bottle?" Davis yelled.

"Inside voice, Davis," Ken reminded him quietly.

"Sorry," Davis replied in a stage whisper.

"I'm in," Matt replied with a grin, setting his guitar carefully against the armchair.

"Me too!" Sora added immediately, throwing Matt a cheeky smile.

"What the hell," Joe shrugged. "This could be interesting."

There were sounds of affirmation from the rest of the group, and they gathered around the discarded card game.

Kari gave Tai a look that said, _What happened to keeping this under control?_

Her brother shrugged, as if to say, _It's Davis' night, let him have his fun_.

"We'll play!" Tai called back, and bounded towards Davis before either Kari or TK had a chance to protest.

"Well, this should be fun," TK decided, throwing Kari an easy smile. Her stomach felt fluttery and her cheeks grew warm, and it was all she could do to give him a shy smile in return.

"Hey, bring the punch over, would you?" Tai called. Kari gave him a death glare, but TK just grabbed the bowl and walked towards his friends. With a feeling of foreboding, Kari followed.

The game was just starting when they got there. Ken had been elected to go first, and he was positioning an empty beer bottle on the carpet. He started to spin it as Kari took a seat between Yolei and Cody. It slowed near Cody, but didn't stop until it landed on Yolei. She blushed scarlet and started to turn away, but Ken leaned over and captured her lips with his own. Yolei seemed to melt into Ken as they kissed. After a few seconds they broke apart, looking equally embarrassed and pleased.

Sora took a big swig from her cup before spinning the bottle. It moved a couple feet from her force, knocking into Mimi. Sora grinned.

"Good enough for me," she said, then grabbed Mimi by the shoulders, pulling the girl close. The kiss was long, and Tai and Davis wolf-whistled as the seconds dragged on. Kari felt a pang of embarrassment, and turned to the side, only to see Cody also turned away, a look of disgust on his face.

Matt gracefully spun the bottle next, giving an amused smile as it landed on Joe. Before the older boy could say anything, Matt had leaned over, given Joe a quick kiss on the lips, and returned to his seat, cool as a cucumber. Kari laughed with the others as Joe spluttered in response.

It was TK's turn next. It took him a few tries to get the bottle spinning (Kari decided that he had spent too long with the punch), but everyone cheered when he got it going. It landed on Kari. Her mouth went dry, and she couldn't ignore the somersaults in her stomach. TK leaned over and placed his lips on hers. His breath tasted like beer and his lips were chapped and their friends were watching and it was nothing like Kari thought their first kiss would be, but it was perfect. She gave a small sigh as he pulled away, a goofy smile on his face, which Kari guessed was from all the beer.

Davis crossed his fingers after he spun the bottle, and began muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "Kari." The bottle stopped at Tai. Davis stared.

"Looks like Fate gave you the wrong Kamiya!" Yolei teased, and the others roared in laughter as Davis turned to face Tai.

Kari breathed a mental sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was to have her first kiss with TK tainted by a kiss from Davis. Besides, the idea of watching the two Goggle boys kiss was very entertaining.

Davis was still pouting, unable to accept the twist in his plans. Tai rolled his eyes. "Oh, for Godssake," he puttered, then pulled Davis close, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and pushed him back to the right.

Tai then grabbed the bottle and spun it softly. Kari could tell he was trying to push it toward Sora, but luck wasn't with him as it landed on the opposite side of the circle to face Izzy. Tai facepalmed.

"Tai, you don't have to – " Izzy began, but Tai, determined to play the game through, took Izzy's head in his hand and knocked their foreheads together in his rush. Izzy laughed as Tai clumsily placed a kiss on the boy's mouth. They both kept laughing as Mimi rolled her eyes and picked up the bottle.

"Aw, Cody!" she cried as the bottle swung to a halt. The fourteen-year-old blinked in surprise, and Mimi placed a kiss on his forehead, earning her a round of "awws" from the group.

She rested her head on Tai's shoulder as Joe took his turn. The bottle landed directly across the circle to point at Sora. Joe pulled at his collar nervously, but the drunken girl grinned and stumbled over to pull her friend into a tight liplock. The others laughed and clapped when Joe finally pulled up for air, looking frazzled.

Izzy was still chuckling as he took the bottle and watched it spin around the group, finally resting on Ken.

"Genius kiss!" Yolei clapped in excitement. Ken smiled at her before turning toward Izzy with a focused look on his face, mirroring Izzy. The boys tried to make their kiss look as intellectual as possible, but Kari thought they looked more constipated than anything else.

Cody decided to pass on his turn, so the game went to Kari. Hoping for TK again, she watched the bottle spin around until it reached the boy's older brother. Kari smiled at Matt, who'd given Kari her first, close-mouthed kiss a few years before when she'd confided to him her fear of being a bad kisser. His lips were gentle on hers and she relaxed for the moment of contact.

Yolei, impatient for her turn, pushed between them to reach the bottle. "My turn!" she yelled, and gave it a vigorous spin, which knocked it into the punch bowl. Her friends laughed as the now-empty bowl teetered over and fell upside down on Davis' knee.

"Ew, I am NOT kissing Davis!" Yolei argued, folding her arms across her chest. Davis pulled a hurt expression and Ken, sticking up for his best friend, began to list the rules of Spin the Bottle. Kari grabbed the punch bowl and brought it into the kitchen to refill with lemonade and Coke. By the time she got back, the game had disbanded, even though Davis was complaining loudly to anyone that would listen that he "didn't even get to kiss KARI yet!"

Cody had crawled up into the armchair and was nestled like Gatomon, his eyes closed in slumber. Mimi had returned to her card game with the other boys, joined by Tai. Matt was attempting to keep a drunken Sora awake until she'd sobered up a little more. Davis and Ken were discussing Davis' plans for his trip, and Yolei and TK were building a cushion fort with the cushions from the couch. Kari left the punch by Tai and crawled into the fort to hang out with her two best friends.

One by one they all started dozing off, until only Kari and, surprisingly, Davis were awake. Kari surveyed her friends who lay haphazardly across the floor, couch, and dismantled cushion fort, and smiled in spite of herself.

"I'm gonna go get some blankets," she told Davis, and headed towards her room.

Kari leaned over her bed to pick up the quilts that were folded on it, when strong arms came around her for the second time that night.

"Oh, hey Davis," Kari greeted him without looking up. "Wanna help me bring these to the living room?"

"Kari," he whispered, his voice huskier than she could ever remember hearing it.

"That's me," she replied, still gathering quilts into her arms.

"I love you," he breathed in her ear. "I love you so much."

"Okay, Davis," she responded, and made a move to leave her room.

He grabbed her roughly and turned her to face him, then forced his lips on her own.

He pulled away after a few seconds and looked in her eyes. "I want you so much, Kari."

Kari could still taste the alcohol from his lips. "Davis, you're drunk."

He shook his head, then nodded it. "Well I am, but I know what I want. You're the only one I've ever wanted."

He pushed her down onto the bed and began kissing her again. Kari tried to fight him off, but his many years of soccer training had made him much stronger than her. She finally gave in and let him continue. After all, what was the harm in letting him kiss her? He'd forget in the morning, and then he'd leave for his month-long trip to America. His mouth left her lips and moved down her neck, pulling on the tender skin there. His hands reached up to the buttons on her flannel shirt and ripped them off. Her eyes flew open.

"Davis, please don't," she begged in a whisper, terrified that too much noise would wake the others. He didn't seem to hear her, and continued his path down her chest. Although Kari had some experience with boys, she had never felt quite as exposed as she did now.

"Davis, stop," she tried again, her voice stronger this time. Once more the boy ignored her, returning his mouth to her own while his hands fumbled for the clasp on her pants. He undid it in a rush, and yanked her pants down her legs. Kari wanted to scream but she was terrified to make any noise, lest their friends find them in this compromising position.

"I want you so much," Davis murmured between kisses. "I want you to be my first."

And suddenly she was in pain, pain that was comparable to nothing. Kari could actually feel something ripping deep inside her, some part of her body that should never have been treated with such disrespect.

"Davis, please," she whispered, afraid to say any more in case she gave in to the urge to start bawling.

"Shh..." was Davis' only response as he continued to kiss her. Kari found herself wishing she was drunk, to dull the pain. Nothing had ever felt like this.

"I love you," Davis whispered over and over. Everything was coming out of focus for Kari, with sights and smells and tastes all blurring together. Davis' voice was all that Kari could recognize as she slowly slipped under.

**A/N: So there's the first chapter! This is the first fanfic I've put on here, so please review and let me know what you think!**

**Update: Edited! I'm going to keep updating the rest of this, but new material probably won't be coming out until my semester ends, mid-May.**


	2. Sunday Morning

***Disclaimer: Nothing's changed since the last chapter. I still don't own Digimon, or anything related to it.**

**A/N: Another chapter edited!**

Sunday

Pain coursed through every part of her: her chest, her mouth... and her heart. She heard movement around her, but refused to open her eyes. Something shifted beside her, and a few seconds later she heard her bedroom door creak slowly open, and slowly closed. She buried her face into her pillow and allowed herself a small sob before taking a deep breath, and trying desperately to fall back to sleep.

Sunshine filtered through Kari's room as Tai opened the windows. "Rise and shine, sister dearest!" he cried cheerily. The figure on the bed didn't budge. Tai frowned, and walked over to shake his sister awake. "Come on, Kari, you know you need to clean up." There was no response. "Ugh, at least wake up so that you can say goodbye to everyone. Davis is leaving!" Tai wished he had his sister's old whistle to wake her up with. No way was he going to get stuck doing all the cleaning, especially when he was the one hung-over.

The door creaked slightly as Davis walked inside, looking surprisingly alert for someone who should have been suffering from a massive hangover. He bounded over to Kari with a smile. "How's my favorite girl!" he asked, in the same cheerful tone that Tai had used.

The older boy shook his head. "She seems really worn out, we should probably just let her sleep," Tai told Davis.

Davis looked put out. "I really wanted to say goodbye…" he pouted.

Tai slung his arm over the boy's shoulder. "Come on, let's join the cleanup crew." They left the room and Tai gently shut the door behind him.

The living room and kitchen were a flurry of movement. All of the DigiDestined were pitching in to help clean up before the Kamiya parents got home. Tai just watched for a moment. Matt and Sora were piling up all the bottles and giving them to Joe, who was in charge of disposing of them. Yolei and Ken were making a big breakfast for everyone. The rest of the group was in charge of general cleanup, which seemed to involve a lot of vacuuming and slow movement. Tai blamed the latter on the fact that most of them were recovering from hangovers, with the aid of Advil and large quantities of water.

He walked towards the kitchen with the intention of helping make omelets, and bumped into Izzy. "Whoops, sorry Tai!" the shorter boy exclaimed as Tai fell to the ground. He held out his hand and helped Tai get back to his feet. As their skin came in contact, Tai felt a slight blush grace his cheeks. _Wait, what? Since when does _Izzy_ make me blush?_ Tai gave himself a mental slap, and smiled at his friend.

"It's no big deal," he said easily, then continued towards the kitchen where Ken and Yolei were cooking and... holding hands? This was a new one.

"Hey guys!" he called, walking between the two and throwing his arms around them. They blushed scarlet and dropped each other's hands like they were on fire. The rest of the group gave Tai death glares, muttering about "too much loud noise." Tai just grinned cheekily and winked at them.

"Oh, hi there, Tai," Ken greeted quietly. "Yolei and I were just... finishing up breakfast."

"Yup, it's all set to go!" Yolei agreed nervously, over-flipping an omelet so that it landed on the counter instead of back in the pan.

"Yeah, I'm sure you guys were _just cooking_," Tai responded, watching with raised eyebrows as Yolei maneuvered the omelet back onto a plate. The two teens surveyed him uncertainly.

"Um, what do you mean?" Ken ventured at last.

"Aw, come on," Tai grinned. "I saw the two of you holding hands. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's nice that you're together."

"Oh." Ken seemed surprised. "Thank you, then."

It was Tai's turn to be surprised. "Wait, I was just teasing you guys. You're actually a couple?" Yolei nodded vigorously and reclaimed Ken's hand. Tai turned his attention to the boy. "Ichijouji?" he addressed, deadpan. "You take good care of my baby sister's best friend. You hurt her, you die."

Ken looked startled, but Yolei let out a laugh. "Wow, I'm that high on your list of people to protect, Tai? I'm _honored_."

Tai just grinned at her, and then ambled out of the kitchen to help clean up. Just one more sweep of the vacuum, and everything was as it had been.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Aside from Cody, everyone had hangovers, and none of them were too good at coping. Once the Advil and food started to kick in, conversation started back up.

"So," Davis began with the first smile Tai had seen all morning. "Ken, what's this I hear about you and our purple-haired friend?"

Both teens blushed again before Ken spoke. "Yes, we're a couple, if that's what you were asking."

There were loud gasps from everyone except for Tai. Mimi started squealing and bombarding the two with questions, while Ken threw Davis death glares. Tai just sat back and watched, laughing as Yolei tried to answer every question at once.

After a quick breakfast cleanup, people started to head out. Davis was the first to leave, since he had a flight to catch that afternoon, and still needed to finish his packing. Cody and TK left for their apartment soon after, with Matt tagging along to visit his mother. Yolei followed a few minutes after, and Ken jumped up to accompany her home. Mimi dragged Joe away to spend one last day in the sun before his internship started, and Izzy trailed after them, deciding that he too spent too much time inside. Soon it was just Sora and Tai in the apartment, with Kari still sound asleep in her room.

"It's been a while since it's been just the two of us, hanging out like this," Sora said with a smile as she stretched out on the couch.

"That's because you've been spending all of your free time with Matt," Tai responded, smirking.

Sora bit her lip. "You're not mad about that, are you?"

Tai was surprised. "Well, I guess I miss having time with just you, but I don't mind you hanging around with Matt. Why would I?"

Sora pondered that for a moment. "I'm not saying you would mind me hanging around Matt – I mean, he's your best friend. I guess I was really wondering what you thought of... Well, of me dating him." She said the last part in a rush, and ducked her head down afterwards.

Tai was dumbfounded. Sure, he'd noticed Sora and Matt spending a lot of time together recently, but that was just because they were good friends, right? And on top of that, Tai had been friends with Sora first. Didn't that mean that he had the prior claim on her? After all, he was in love with Sora, right?

_No._

The answer came as a shock to Tai. He was _sure_ he was in love with Sora. He had to be, right? But the more Tai thought about it, the more he realized that his feelings for Sora were the same as his feelings for Kari – those of brotherly love. He didn't actually feel any romantic attraction towards his childhood best friend.

"Tai, you still there?" Sora asked uncertainly, peaking her head up.

Tai let loose a big grin. "Sure thing, Sora. I think it would be awesome if you and Matt dated! You guys are great for each other; you complement each other perfectly."

Sora let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh my god, thank you so much, Tai! I was so worried, I guess I just thought..." She blushed a bit. "I dunno, I always thought that maybe you had feelings for me?" She posed the last part as more of a question than a statement, waiting for Tai to either confirm or deny it.

"Not at all," he replied with a smile. Realizing the implication, he added quickly, "Not that you're not a great girl. I mean, you're totally awesome! I just see you as more of a sister than girlfriend material, that's all."

Sora gave him a big hug. "Oh, thank you, Tai! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You don't know how happy I am to hear that!"

Suddenly music started blaring from Sora's pocket. She grabbed her cell phone and flipped it open, reading the message. "Oh, no!" she cried in surprise. "I forgot, I'm supposed to be helping out my mom at the flower shop today!" She frowned. "I'm really sorry, Tai, but I have to get going. But I promise, we're definitely going to be hanging out more this summer. I've missed my Tai time." With one last hug she headed out the door.

Tai continued sitting on the couch for a long time, just thinking. He thought about Sora, and how much her friendship had always meant to him. He thought about Matt, and how well the unlikely duo seemed to get along, since Tai was a soccer-obsessed jock, and Matt was an _oh_-so-cool musician. He thought about Sora and Matt, and how their personalities seemed to complement each other perfectly, each one filling in gaps the other had, and helping them grow. He smiled at that thought. And lastly, he thought about Izzy, and that one touch of their hands, and what it might mean...

Tai was so deep in thought that at first, he didn't notice Kari enter the room. It was only once she opened the fridge and started rummaging around that Tai looked up.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," he said with a smile. "You missed all the fun!"

She slowly looked over to him. Her every movement seemed measured, and lethargic. Tai was shocked to see the dead look in his sister's usually lively eyes.

"Whoah, Kari! Are you okay?" Although his tone was concerned, Kari seemed to shrink back at the intensity.

"Yeah, Tai, I'm fine," she responded, giving him a small smile. "I'm just really worn out, that's all. Did everyone already leave?"

Tai nodded. Kari reacted slightly to this, although just what she was feeling, Tai couldn't say. He wondered if it had anything to do with Davis. Tai remembered the boy being particularly friendly with his sister last night. Suddenly, something clicked in Tai's head.

"It's Davis, isn't it?" he asked her with a grin. Kari looked startled, and began to open her mouth. Tai plowed on. "You like him, don't you? And now you're all sad because he left! Oh Kari, that's so cute!" He walked towards his sister and enveloped her in a big hug.

"Yeah..." she mumbled into his shoulder. "Listen, Tai," she added, breaking away. "I'm not feeling too good. I think I'm gonna go back to my room and try to get some more sleep."

"Sure thing," Tai responded, still grinning at the thought of his sister and Davis. "Feel better, okay?"

Kari nodded, and walked back into the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her.

**A/N: The goal was to make each chapter its own day, but this chapter was just getting too long already. I may split the days into two parts. If I do that, I'll label them as such.**

**ALSO: I edited the first chapter, and switched the rating from M to T. Any feedback on the rating would be great, because I want to make sure it's correct.**

**Actually, any feedback would be great! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Sunday Afternoon

***Disclaimer: Nope, I**_**still**_**don't own Digimon. None of these characters, nothing.**

Sunday Afternoon

_Flump_.

For the tenth time that afternoon, Joe heard the baseball land softly in Izzy's mitt behind him. He groaned.

"Mimi, why on earth would you think that playing _baseball_ would be a good idea? You know I'm no good at anything sportsy..." he complained, letting the bat swing down to his side with a defeated air.

Mimi put her hands on her hips. "Humph! Well, I had to get you and Izzy to do _something_. You two just waste away inside all day!"

Joe had to admit that she had a point. In fact, that was the whole reason that he was out here with her. While they were still at the Kamiyas', Mimi had declared that Izzy and Joe spent far too much time indoors, and proceeded to drag the boys towards the local park. Mimi had also managed to produce a baseball, a bat, and a mitt from that giant pink bag she always had with her. They'd originally been playing catch, but when Joe admitted in passing that he didn't know how to bat a baseball, Mimi insisted that he learn.

"_How_ do you do this, Mimi? I mean, honestly, I have NO IDEA how to hit a baseball!" As if to prove his point, Joe threw the bat onto the ground in front of him.

"It's, just, kind of, a swing?" Mimi offered with an uncertain shrug.

Joe looked towards Izzy for help, but the redhead just threw up his arms as if to say that he had absolutely no clue.

"I don't know how to teach you," Mimi confessed. "But, I mean, don't most boys know how to play baseball? Isn't it, like, a requirement?"

Joe laughed. "Don't you remember the first time we were in the Digital World, Mimi? I had such bad allergies as a kid, I could never spend much time outside!"

Mimi smiled. "At least you've gotten over most of those. Izzy is _still_ having a love affair with his laptop," she said with a teasing wink.

Joe looked back towards Izzy, who was scowling slightly.

"It's not like I spend _all_ my time alone with my laptop..." the redhead muttered.

"That's right!" Joe laughed as he remembered. "Now you get _Tai_ to spend every Saturday with you and your laptop!"

The growing friendship between the DigiDestined of Courage and Knowledge had definitely surprised Joe. It had always seemed to him that _Matt_and Tai formed the best-friend-duo of the team. Whenever Joe had visited Tai's dorm over the past few weeks, though, it seemed like it was Izzy, not Matt, who was always there. In fact, the two of them refused to have any Saturday morning commitments, choosing instead to spend those few hours hanging out together.

"Well, yes, we do homework together! It's much better to get it out of the way on Saturday, so that we don't have to worry about it the rest of the weekend," Izzy explained simply. "And anyway, you're the pot calling the kettle black, aren't you, Joe? I mean, _you_ spend all your free time studying, too!"

Mimi let out a trilling laugh, and Joe felt an odd pang inside him at the thought that it was _Izzy_ making her laugh. He threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, _I_ am a junior in university," he argued. "I just can't afford to spend as much time goofing off inside as you froshmen can! I've got tons of exams and labs to study for!"

The other two just smiled indulgently at him. Admitting defeat, Joe picked up the bat again. Mimi smiled.

"Yay! I _know_ you can do it this time, Joe!" she cheered.

"Actually, I think that _you_ should give it a go, Mimi," Izzy disagreed.

Mimi looked back at him with wide eyes. "Oh, but Izzy, I'm not so sure..."

"Come on," he encouraged her. "It'll be fun."

Mimi smiled back at Izzy with a look of total trust, and walked over to take the bat from Joe. Joe could only watch them. The two friends were so at ease with each other. He supposed a lot of it was due to the fact that they were in the same year at university, and had shared a few intro classes the past two semesters. In fact, come to think of it, the two younger members of the older DigiDestined had _always_ been close. _They're perfect for each other,_ he mused. _Izzy keeps her grounded, and she gets him to try new things. They'll end up together for sure_. Joe felt a dull ache inside when he thought of that. He shook his head to clear it, and focused on the present once more. Mimi was doing a few experimental swings to try and get the hang of the bat. She looked up at Joe, and put the baseball in his hand.

"Come on, let's try this!" she cried with a girlish excitement. Joe couldn't help smiling at that. Mimi's happiness was truly infectious.

He backed up a few paces and pulled his arm back to throw the ball. "Alright, here it comes..."

**A/N: Not much to say here. Hope you're enjoying it!**

**Another chapter edited! Not much changed here.**


	4. Monday Morning

***Disclaimer: I haven't gained the rights to Digimon in the last month. Sorry, guys. I don't own it.**

Monday Morning

Yolei woke up Monday morning feeling good. The party for Davis was _perfecto_ (except for the hangover), she was _finally_ dating Ken (who was on vacation for the week), and she woke up for work with plenty of time (wait, did that clock say 8:20?).

Huh. Maybe it wasn't such a great morning.

"Crap!" Yolei yelled as she jumped out of bed. She still had to shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and get to her family's convenience store by 8:30. Shower or breakfast, shower or breakfast? She sniffed her arm experimentally. _Yuck_. Definitely a shower.

By the time Yolei finally got to the store, it was 8:40. Her sister, Momoe, already had her green apron on, and was waiting behind the front counter. Momoe sighed.

"Yolei, what are we going to do with you?" the older girl groaned. "Mom and dad are _trying_ to teach you responsibility. If you were working for someone else, you could get _fired_." She rubbed her temples in frustration.

Yolei scowled at her older sister. "I _know_ that, Mo," she snapped. "I overslept, okay? So just drop it!"

Momoe rolled her eyes as she handed Yolei a green apron, then sent the girl off to tidy the store. Why they did this both at night and in the morning, Yolei never understood. It wasn't like the floor was going to get covered in mud between midnight and 8am.

Yolei rummaged around in the back closet to find the mop and bucket. She filled up the bucket with soap and water, dragged it out to the store, and plunked both mop and bucket onto the floor with a splash so that she could tie her apron. _If only Ken were here..._ she sighed to herself. _He wouldn't even have to talk. God knows I'd do most of the talking anyway. He'd just be here. I love spending time with him. And he's so beautiful that I just want to –_

CRASH!

Yolei looked up in surprise to see the mop and bucket fall over and spill onto the floor. _Oh, no! It must have happened while I was daydreaming! _She reached over to right them, only to find out that her left hand was tied to the apron. _Yup, definitely daydreaming_.

"YOLEI!" Momoe's voice came from the front register. "We're opening in five minutes! Finish cleaning, and get your butt back over here!"

Yolei ran to the back closet to get some towels. She threw them over the biggest puddles, and then mopped up the rest of the water in record time. Although, record time didn't seem to be fast enough.

"Good morning, Yolei!" a cheerful voice behind her called. Yolei turned around to see TK standing with his arms outstretched, and a big smile on his face.

"Oh, hey TK," Yolei replied, trying not to sound too disappointed.

It didn't work. TK dropped both his arms and the smile. "Am I really that awful to look at?" he tried to joke.

Yolei smiled and shook her head. "No, I really am glad to see you," she assured him as she gave him a quick hug. "It's just, Kari told me she'd come visit me bright and early on my first day at work. I was hoping to see her so we could girl talk. About Ken. Because, ohmigod KEN IS MY BOYFRIEND AND IT'S SO AWESOME AND – "

T.K. clamped a hand over Yolei's mouth to stop her from scaring the other customers. "Kari said she'd come today?" he repeated. "Maybe I'll stick around for a while, then. I haven't heard from her since Saturday night."

Yolei bit T.K.'s hand to get if off of her face. Once it was removed, she frowned. "Really? I haven't heard from her, either," she realized. "And I even sent a message to her D-Terminal telling her I had exciting news."

T.K. rolled his eyes. "I hate to say it, Yolei, but you _always_ have exciting news. That's not to say," he added quickly, when Yolei looked ready to yell at him, "that I'm not worried. I just think, by now, she's probably used to hearing that you have exciting news."

Yolei tried to calm down, and recalled the message she'd sent Kari on Sunday.

_Plan Indigo was a go! :) We on to talk tomorrow? -xo Yolei_

"No." Yolei shook her head. "No, she would know that this was different."

She and T.K. both paused to think about it.

"We, um, got a little drunk on Saturday," T.K. noted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"And we didn't see Kari in the morning," Yolei finished. Something clicked. "You don't think she overdid it, do you?" she whispered, not wanted to believe it. Any hunger she felt from skipping breakfast immediately slipped away.

"No way, Tai would have told us," TK replied, but he still looked troubled. "Listen, Yolei – " he suddenly cut off, looking behind Yolei fearfully.

Yolei slowly turned to see Momoe towering over her. "Hi, Momoe," she greeted meekly.

"Yolei. Register. Now."

Yolei nodded, and Momoe walked away. She started to follow, but TK grabbed her arm.

"Yolei, I'm gonna go see Kari today," he told her. "I'll let you know if I hear anything."

She nodded and watched him leave the store.

_Oh, Kari,_ Yolei thought worriedly. _Please be okay._

**A/N: Storyyyy!**

**If any of y'all are interested, you should check out my Henrika stories (Someone Else's Weirdo)! They'll probably be updated more than this... heh...**


	5. Monday Afternoon

***Disclaimer: Even now, a month later, I still don't own Digimon. It belongs to Toei.**

**A/N: Be warned, this chapter uses some strong language! :O**

**Also, edited!**

Monday Afternoon

_Knock knock!_

TK paused outside the door to Kari's apartment building, waiting for someone to answer. His conversation with Yolei had left him slightly worried about Kari, although he knew he was probably overreacting. Still, it was unusual for Kari to go a couple of days without talking to Yolei, especially when the older girl had just gotten a boyfriend.

Tai opened the door. "Oh, hey TK!" he greeted the blond boy cheerfully, moving aside to let TK in. "What's shaking?"

TK laughed at Tai's outdated expression, but sobered up when he remembered why he was there. "Is Kari around?" he asked, peering about the apartment. "Yolei and I haven't heard from her since Saturday, so I just wanted to make sure she was okay..." He trailed off, feeling slightly foolish, as though he was overreacting to all of this.

Tai raised his eyebrows a fraction, then broke into a smile. "She's okay," he replied easily. "Well, not totally okay," he corrected himself. "She's still all sad because Davis is gone."

TK raised his eyebrows in return. Since when did Kari get all upset about Davis being gone?

Seeing this, Tai leaned in conspiratorially. "She's in _love_ with him!" Tai hissed into TK's ear in an exaggerated whisper.

TK felt his heart stop for a moment. _Kari... is in love with... Davis? No, it can't be! She can't love him, she_can't_!_ It took everything TK had not to scream out at this news. TK continued to stare at the grinning boy, willing Tai's words to be false.

"Oh," he whispered in response. TK cleared his throat and tried again. "Oh, I see." The two boys looked at each other for another minute.

Tai eventually stopped grinning to survey TK in confusion. "Do... you want to... see her?" he asked slowly, as thought TK was a small child who only understood a few words.

TK jumped in surprise. "Yeah!" he said quickly. How had he forgotten to ask? "Yeah, I'd like to see Kari, if that's okay with you."

Tai nodded in bemusement, and gestured towards Kari's bedroom. "You can go ahead in there. I have to run to soccer practice, so I'll be out for a little while." TK noticed for the first time that Tai was decked out in full soccer apparel. "Could you make sure she eats something?" Tai added, in a quieter voice. "That's one thing I've been worrying about. She's barely eaten since Saturday. I mean, I totally get her not eating Mom's food, but she hasn't even eaten the stuff I make." Tai bit his lip and looked away.

TK felt another blow. Kari was so hung up over Davis that she wouldn't even eat? He knew that he couldn't let that reason bother him; Kari was his first priority right now. Still, it hurt to know in love Kari could be with someone like Davis. Someone... who wasn't TK.

He gave himself a mental shake and waved goodbye to Tai before walking towards Kari's room. The Kamiyas had finally given their children separate rooms a few years ago, meaning that Kari could make her bedroom girlier than it had been when she shared it with Tai. Still, the most feminine aspect was the soft pink walls (which TK was all too sure was Mimi's influence). The furniture in the room was all stained wood, and the quilt on the bed was a checkered pattern of pink, yellow, and brown. The room was furnished with a dresser, desk, squashy chair, and small vanity. It was surprisingly clean, with the only object not put away being Kari's digital camera, which rested next to her laptop on her desk.

Kari was lying on top of her quilt, in a nest of blue and green blankets despite the heat. She was reading a paperback book, and didn't seem to hear TK come in.

"Knock, knock," he joked feebly, stepping into the doorway.

Kari glanced up at him, and TK was shocked at how dead her eyes looked. From the first day that he met her, Kari had always had a sparkle in her eyes, almost a window looking in at the light inside her. But now, it was like that window had been closed and painted shut. Although her eyes still retained their ruby shade, the color seemed so much duller and lifeless. TK felt physical pain just looking at his friend.

"Hey, TK," Kari greeted him, seeming like she was trying her hardest to make her voice sound normal. "What's up?"

"Kari, you look terrible," TK responded, completely forgetting tact. Now that he'd moved past her eyes, he saw that there were also dark circles underneath them, and her hair and clothes looked rumpled, as though she hadn't bothered to clean them since Saturday.

Kari bowed her head down, not bothering to deny it.

"Do..." TK started uncertainly. "Do you want to talk about it? About Davis, I mean?"

Kari's head shot up in surprise. "How did you - " she began.

"Tai told me," TK responded. "Kari, I had no idea you had a thing for him, especially not one this bad." _Why didn't you tell me?_he wanted to add, but knew better than to badger her about it at the moment.

Kari seemed to be struggling for words. TK wondered if she knew about his feelings for her, and felt bad about him finding out about Davis like this. That was Kari for you: she never wanted to upset anyone.

"I don't have a thing for Davis," she quietly told him at last, looking down.

TK couldn't help laughing at that. "Come on, Kari, there's nothing wrong with it," he assured her, biting back the voice in his head that was screaming, _Of course there is!_He must have been right. Kari was trying her hardest not to hurt him. Kind of pointless, when he already had her feelings confirmed by Tai.

"TK, _seriously_," Kari tried again, her voice stronger this time.

"Kari..."

"I don't - "

"I know it's true."

"It's _not_!"

"Yeah, right."

Kari was getting hysterical. "TK, just _listen_- "

"_Damn_it, Kari, save it!" TK snapped. Kari looked like he'd smacked her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, before starting to shake silently.

TK groaned inwardly. _Way to go, 'best friend'. Now she probably hates you._"Shit, Kari, I'm sorry," he told her. It hurt him to see her looking so sad and weak.

"I _don't_like Davis," she whispered to the bed.

"Shhh... Of course you don't," TK replied quietly as he wrapped his arms around her.

Tai's words rang in TK's ears: _Could you make sure she eats something?_

With a sigh, he removed his arms from Kari's small frame. "I'll tell you what: how about I go make us some noodles?" Kari looked up at him. "Matt used to do that when I was upset. It's guaranteed to make you make you feel better."

Kari gave a tentative nod. "O-okay, that sounds good."

TK walked into the kitchen and rummaged through Tai's cooking cabinet. It was the one place in the Kamiya house that you could find food that wasn't guaranteed to cause bowel distress. He found a new package of sōmen, and dumped it into a pot with water. While it was cooking Kari came out of her room in a different shirt, carrying the same paperback book. She nestled on the couch and read as TK put the cooked noodles in the fridge to cool.

He walked over to the couch and stretched out on the other end. Kari was so engrossed in her book that TK didn't think she even noticed anything outside of it. He took the opportunity to survey his best friend. She'd obviously made an effort to clean up for him, as her short brown hair was freshly combed, and the new pink shirt was free of wrinkles. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she turned a page in her book. To the untrained eye, it looked like Kari was doing fine. But TK, who'd known her for eight years, and could see through that easily. The occasional quiver in her chin and frequent blinking were telltale signs of Kari holding in tears. She'd always hated crying, because of how it might affect the people around her.

TK scooted over to put his arm around Kari's shoulder, but at the contact Kari visibly tensed and bit her lip. "Sorry," he whispered quietly, and returned to his side of the couch. There was no response, and a glance showed that Kari had buried her head back in her book. TK drummed his fingers on his thigh as he brainstormed ways to cheer up his friend. He wished Gatomon were here. Kari couldn't be unhappy if her cat Digimon was around.

"The noodles should be ready," Kari voiced after a few minutes. TK jumped up and pulled the container out of the fridge. He found a small bowl of dipping sauce in the side door, and picked up two forks from the cabinet. TK knew this kitchen as well as his own.

They ate in silence. Kari was fighting a losing battle against tears as she slowly dipped noodles into the sauce. TK watched helplessly as two thin streams of water ran down the girl's face. Her shoulders began to shake, but still she concentrated on putting food in her mouth. TK wanted to tell her she could stop, but knew that she needed the nutrition. After a few more bites though, Kari couldn't keep up the façade. The fork dropped onto the couch and she rested her head on her knees as she sobbed silently.

TK wanted desperately to wrap his arms around her, but the last attempt told him that it would only hurt her more if he tried. Instead he picked up her fork and gently replaced it in the noodles, then put the whole container on the floor. "Kari," he began uncertainly, "I know you said you don't like Davis, but just so you know, it would be okay if you did." No response. "He's a great guy, and you deserve to be happy, however you find that happiness." Kari started shaking harder. TK was out of ideas. "Look, I can just go – "

"No," she whispered thickly. "Please, just… stay?"

TK sat back down in surprise. He wasn't even doing anything to help her. "Why?"

"I need you with me."

TK's heart thudded. _She doesn't mean it that way_, he reminded himself, but he couldn't stop the hope growing in him. "Okay," he replied. "I will."

**A/N: Thank you to those of you who have reviewed! Also, thank you to everyone who has added Finding Hope to their favorites! It really means a lot to me!**


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